A Long Way to Go
by stonesonearth
Summary: She was the only person who didn't seem to be interested in the Super Soldier serum running through his veins, or even him. A couple of short stories, Captain Hill developing and a bit of Clintasha. Prequel to 'When The Helicarriers Went Down'.
1. The Loner

**I actually wrote this story before 'When The Helicarriers Went Down'. I kept editing it, hoping it would be better but a few months had past it's still in my computer… I'm not really satisfied with the last part of this chapter. It sounds weird, ugh. Maybe you'll get what I mean when you finish reading.**

**I forgot to mention the timeline of the whole story. So, SHIELD went down two years after the Tessaract event, and this story is set three months after the Tessaract event.**

**Captain Hill all the way, and a bit Clintasha. **

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><p>Steve didn't know how to describe how he felt towards the lieutenant as she reminded him of Peggy sometimes. Strong. Athletic. Independent. Didn't like to talk.<p>

She wouldn't hesitate to argue with Nick Fury if she disagreed with him. And Steve knew that the lieutenant didn't really like superheroes from the moment they met. She was against with the Avengers initiative, saying that it would be ridiculous to be relying on a group of people (plus a God) with dangerous, uncontrolled abilities when disasters struck, and the way she looked at the Avengers made him wondering if they had offended her without knowing.

She was the only person who didn't seem to be interested in the Super Soldier serum running through his veins, or even him. She never spoke to him outside of work, or even when they met each other on the helicarrier or the base, she hardly shot him a look. However, Steve was okay with this. He was actually glad that she (and also Natasha who was with Clint. They never really admitted it but everyone could tell) didn't care much about him as he already got enough attention from all other female agents of SHIELD.

But ever since the Tessaract event he had developed curiousity in the lieutenant, wondering what kind of person she was. He found himself trying to steal some secret glances at her when she was not looking. And then Steve found that the lieutenant was not as cold as he thought. She smiled sometimes, but not very often. She would smile when she was talking to Natasha, or Pepper, or sometimes both of them at the same time. And when she was paying for her sandwich in the cafeteria she would smile to the older lady.

Her smile always softened her whole face, making her look so much younger. Steve thought, but later he remembered the lieutenant was only 30, an age which was oddly young for her to acquire such high position in SHIELD. He had heard enough rumours and gossips about her in these three months working for SHIELD but he did not think there was something going on between Fury and the lieutenant. To Steve, Fury treated her more like a daughter than an eye candy. Clint jokingly told him how Natasha and he suspected that Fury had something to do with Maria's cheating ex-boyfriend end up in a hospital with three broken ribs and punctured lungs when Maria was in the mission at Maluku Islands.

'Don't mess with Maria Hill,' Clint told him. 'Either Fury or herself will come after you if you ever did that.'

And there was a time during the Avengers meeting the Director almost caught him staring at the lieutenant's face. He quickly turned and saw Natasha smirking, giving him a knowing look.

Since then he dared not look at the lieutenant anymore.

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><p>She was a mystery.<p>

No one really knew how Maria Hill got promoted so soon after 9 years in SHIELD. Steve was pretty sure that most of her files in SHIELD were classified and as for her life before joining SHIELD, even JARVIS couldn't find a single data ("Ice Queen must have deleted them permanently," Tony said. "I find it hard to believe but she's very good at computer. JARVIS couldn't access to her files at all, and _only_ her files.")

Steve found her even more frightening than Nick Fury sometimes because she was incredibly smart. Probably smarter than Bruce and Tony when it came to people. She was very observant and she seemed to know what was going on in everyone's head. He didn't realise the lieutenant had been observing him until she spoke to him after the meeting.

'This thing, Cap, is called iPod,' she pointed at the gadget that she was wearing around her wrist. 'We use it to listen to music or audio books, pretty much like a portable radio. You can clip it to shirts, bags or watch belts.'

His eyes widened. 'It can do so many things?'

She took it off and handed it to him. 'You can have it if you want.'

'No I was just being curious. I don't know how to use it anyway.'

'I'm sure there are a lot of people who are more than willing to teach you.'

He felt uncomfortable when he remembered how the other female agents looked at him.

'I'll get Clint to teach me,' he said. 'But how do you know I like it?'

'I saw you staring at it for a couple of times, not just today. And I noticed you have a special thing towards blue.'

'It's my favourite colour.'

'Mine too.' She left the iPod on the table and left the room before he had the chance to thank her.

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><p>Steve really liked to listen to his teammates' stories, especially Clint. Natasha and him had been through a lot of dangerous missions together so they had a lot to share. Natasha didn't usually bond with them so it was always Clint who did the talking. One day when Clint was telling him how Natasha and his adventure in Budapest Steve caught a name slipping from the archer's mouth.<p>

Maria Hill.

He was quite surprised to learn that she was the commander of that mission and how she eventually saved the pair from danger.

'I didn't know that she's so-' he paused for a while to think for the right word. 'Capable. And she's so young.'

The archer nodded. 'Nat and I have no problems taking orders from her. She's really good at her work."

'That's right, and that's why we call her the Ice Queen of SHIELD, Cap. She loves her work so much that she doesn't even want to talk," Tony interjected. 'I won't be surprised if one day she's marrying her office or her desk.'

'I think the reason why Commander Hill doesn't talk to you is because she doesn't want to waste time arguing with you, Stark. She got SHIELD to run.'

Clint laughed. "Tony's actually right, Steve. Maria doesn't really like to talk at work, but she's a nice person. She will talk more to you if you're close to her.'

'How do you know? I didn't know you're close to her.'

His eagerness to know more about her must have been really obvious as Tony looked at him in slight surprise. 'Like seriously, you're interested in Hill? Do you really want to die of frostbites?'

'I'm sure that those who call Maria Ice Queen never really know her. Nat and I get along with her just fine.' Clint defended the lieutenant. 'She just prefers to be alone most of the time.'

'Maria Loner Hill,' Tony shrugged. 'Makes no difference anyway. She's still the Ice Queen.'

No it was different. He remembered how he felt after the super-soldier programme. Sometimes he wanted to hide himself away from the others because he just wanted to be with those who he really knew.

Later that day he saw her walking in the base, wearing her signature dark blue catsuit. She looked concerned when an agent returned from mission with injuries. She spoke to the junior agent softly, so soft that even with his super-hearing ability he couldn't hear her. But he knew she must have said something nice because the junior agent grinned at her afterwards. She smiled back slightly, but very beautiful.

_She's not an Ice Queen, not at all,_ Steve thought with a smile.

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><p><strong>So, what do you think? <strong>


	2. A Mission in Middle East

**Fighting with her alongside was a total new experience.**

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><p>With the super-human strength he gained from the serum he could fight his way out of any army or terrorist without any aid, but Steve was a soldier, and no soldier fought alone That was why he couldn't understand why he was sent to this mission alone.<p>

'You stopped Schmidt all by yourself so this shouldn't be a problem to you, Rogers,' she said coolly. 'I don't see a need to assign a partner to you.'

'But Commander-'

'You're dismissed.'

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><p>He was surrounded by 20 armed terrorists, and he had a hostage to rescue. He didn't think Natasha and Clint could multitask under this kind of situation if they were doing it alone. He should have requested for a partner.<p>

"Mission report, Rogers." He heard her voice from the earpiece. "What's going on?"

"I'm surrounded by 20 men, all armed. I can't protect the hostage while fighting the bad guys."

"I'll send backups to you." She said after pausing for a short while. "They'll be ready in 10 minutes."

"No that'll be too late."

She didn't answer, but 2 minutes later he knew why she didn't say anything.

She was getting ready- with guns and grenades.

Maria Hill was his only backup in this mission.

"I won't apologise because it's not my fault that we had incomplete intel!" She shouted to him as she threw a grenade to distract the men they were fighting against. "I did everything I could so you better don't say anything!"

"But you knew the intel was incomplete!" He shouted back as he helped to block her attacker's blow. "That's why you came here with me!"

"No that's why I sent you instead of other agents, Rogers!" She spat. "If I send the others they might die but you, the greatest soldier in the history might actually succeed!"

"You-" He looked at her, momentarily forgot that they were still in a battlefield.

"Watch out, Rogers." She said coolly as she shot someone behind him without even looking at the target. "I might not be able to save you next time."

'I need a team, Commander." He said firmly. "Fighting alone wouldn't work."

"Oh why do you think I'm here, Rogers?" She put her guns back as all the men collapsed to the ground. "You think I won't leave you fighting these idiots alone?"

He was fighting for words to say but he realised she was right. She could have left him alone in the desert yet she chose to help him. However, he was still angry with her for being so reckless to place so much confidence in him to bring back all the hostages on his own.

But during the de-briefing he realised it was Fury's plan after all, trying to get him work with other people before Natasha was assigned to be in his team, and that Fury planned to send other agents but it was the lieutenant who volunteered to help him to "warm up" before he started partnership with the assassin. She said that the mission was relatively dangerous and that any inexperienced agent might get the hostages killed.

"I don't want to lose any man, or let Captain America to take any risk."

"Maria never planned to have you fight alone," Natasha told him when they were out for the first mission together. "She wanted to make sure you completely understand there are circumstances that you'll need a partner to help you. That's why she showed up at the last minute. That was her plan after all."

"I know I need a partner." He was still a bit angry. "What makes her think that I won't let people to help me?"

"I heard stories," Natasha paused for a few moments before she continued. "When she was younger she was very close with one of the agents, and he died in a mission where he didn't wait for the backups and did everything at his own accord."

"So he and she, they were-" Steve found his throat went dry, but the spy shook her head.

"Maria knows better to believe in love. That's how she survives in the world of spies and assassins, Cap."

"What about you? You still think that love is for children?"

She nodded.

"But you're with Clint, isn't it?"

"I had too much red in my ledger. I'm too busy wiping them out but Clint-" Her voice was low. "Sometimes he makes me feel like a child again."

Both of them were so deep in their own thoughts before Natasha spoke again.

"Well Rogers, I wish one day Maria can find someone who makes her feel childlike too."

Seeing her smirking, he knew all she said just now was to get him thinking of Maria.

_God, no._

"Not you too, Natasha. I don't like her. Not in the romantic way."

"Then why were you so mad at her just now?" Natasha actually smiled. "I thought you were someone who would never question orders."

"I was mad because she thought- I thought-"

"That you're an arrogant asshole?" She laughed as she shook her head. "Maria never judges. She looks like she doesn't have a heart but trust me, she cares and she's very nice."

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><p>After he returned from the mission he went to the lieutenant's office but only to find her office door not closed. Curious, he opened the door slightly and saw her sleeping on her desk. He was asked to leave his report on her desk because she would be away. Natasha told him Fury sent the lieutenant to Chile for a one-week undercover mission.<p>

Along with the report, he left a portrait of her fighting when they were in Middle East, and a note on the back of the portrait.

_Thank you._

And he signed below the portrait as _S. G. Rogers._

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><p>The next time he saw her it was almost a month later.<p>

He stood before the sandbag, undoing the strips on his wrist and she walked to him, wearing only a white tank top with grey sweatpants.

'Yes, Commander?' He stared at her face and swallowed.

He was certain that if he ever lowered his gaze to somewhere other than her face, Maria will grab his collar and punch him without second thought.

Her lips were lifted slightly, almost a smile, as if she knew what was going through his mind at that very moment.

'Well, Rogers-'

His stomach churned when he heard her voice.

'I didn't know that you can draw that well.'

'Ugh... Thanks.' He swallowed. Talking to her reminded him of how he felt when he was talking to Peggy. 'I hope you like it.'

"I do." She said before she walked away to use the treadmill.

To be honest, Steve couldn't tell she was being sincere or mere polite. It was always hard for him to figure out how women's mind worked. First with Peggy, now with her.

_Why does she always make it so hard?_

Frustrated, he gave the sandbag another punch.

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><p><strong>Actually there's a story in between the part where Steve gave Maria his sketch and the part where they met again in the gym, but I've decided to cut it and posted as another story because I think it sounds better from Maria's POV. <strong>


	3. The Notebook

**A/N: It's been quite a while since I last updated this series. I'll be posting another story after this, since I won't be updating this series until I post another story. A much longer story that comprises all of the short stories in this 'Long Way to Go' series, which I will post it in December or later - I'm not so sure yet, but I promise I won't give up on this. I love the pairing of Steve/Maria and I really want to read more fics about them.**

**Thank you for all the favourites and follows. They mean a lot to me.**

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><p>It was quiet, like the silence he felt when he first woke up in this century. He didn't know other than the state-of-the-art gym SHIELD also had a surprisingly well-maintained library in New York base. It was Bruce who told him about the library, when he saw the scientist carrying books back to the Tower. Apparently SHIELD could get their hands on many books that could hardly be found on the market, just like other intel and information that were oblivious to the public.<p>

The library was full of lights, and the temperature in the compound was just nice. Neither too warm or cold.

He never liked cold weather. It reminded him of his days in the ice, although he couldn't really feel the cold he still hated it.

He walked to the shelf labelled 'History' and browsed through the books they had. He randomly picked a book which entitled The Diary of A Young Girl and then he moved to the reading zone. There were sofas and a few working tables. He smiled and took a seat on the sofa.

The book was good, he thought. He liked how she wrote about her life with such clarity and eloquence when her life was hanging by a thread. It was not a tale in the age of crazy writers. It was a collection of memories, of thoughts of a young, yet real, girl.

Then he heard someone entering the library.

Light, quick footsteps.

He knew who that was, and he subconsciously lowered his head, hoping her not to see him but then the footsteps became more audible. He knew she was approaching him, so he turned to face her.

'So Captain, how's life in the modern world?'

Her smile was polite yet distant.

When he heard the husky voice of hers, his heart was palpitating.

'Am I interrupting you?'

'No, not at all. I, I just finished reading,' he said when he finally found his voice. 'A bit old-fashioned, yeah, but I still prefer real books.'

Bruce read articles on his laptop. Natasha and Clint read ebooks. Tony got JARVIS to read him everyday news. Even Pepper read magazines on her iPad.

'A lot of people don't like digital books too,' she said. 'I personally find more pleasure in reading real books.'

'Really?' He smiled in relief and put his book away. 'What kind of books do you usually read?'

'Are you going to continue this conversation without inviting me to sit down?' She looked slightly bemused. 'I was hoping we could continue this conversation for a while before I have to leave for another meeting.'

'Oh, I'm so sorry,' He immediately stood up and offered her a seat in front of him. 'I- I forgot. Sorry."

'It's okay.' She smiled as he blushed. She then sat at the seat apposite of him. "I read all genres actually, as long as I have time for myself.'

'Are you always that busy?'

She nodded, but did not elaborate. He looked at her for a while, hoping she would say something but she didn't. She looked at him with the automatic smile she had for everyone. He then realised she was expecting him to come out with another topic. At that moment he wished he was with Bucky because his friend was always comfortable around girls, but no. Maria Hill was totally different from the girls that Bucky introduced him to last time. She was like a modern day version of Peggy. She was smart, tough and strong. Tony sort of taught him how to talk to girls last time but he didn't think she would be amused if he talked about movies and fashion. Moreover he knew nothing about movies and fashion nowadays.

He thought of the conversation he had with Bruce the other day.

'Umm... You like marine biology?'

'Bruce told you, I presume?' she smiled slightly. 'We had a conversation that day. Your friend knows a lot of stuff. I'm impressed.'

'Bruce was very impressed too,' he smiled as he remembered the doctor praising her vast knowledge on marine animals. 'He said you should consider becoming a marine biologist if you don't want to work for SHIELD in the future.'

"Oh Bruce was exaggerating." She shook her head. "If I was that smart I wouldn't join SHIELD in the first place."

He noticed her use of the scientist's first name.

_Twice. _

For some reasons the fact that she was close with every Avenger except for him made him a bit uncomfortable. But wait, she wasn't close with Tony too. That thought cheered him up for merely milliseconds because Tony wasn't a person he was willing to be compared to. He wouldn't deny that Tony was a good teammate but to be honest, he would be annoyed by Tony at least twice a day.

'Did I lose you somewhere, Rogers?'

"Oh, I was thinking about…" he quickly said something to cover. "About music."

"Music?" She raised her eyebrow. Immediately he was regret that he'd made such a lousy excuse. However, she didn't say anything further so he decided to go on.

"Yeah… You have any music to recommend?"

"I don't know much about songs actually. Maybe you should ask someone else about this." She shrugged. "Stark might have some suggestions."

Steve shook his head. "I don't like the music he listens to. It's just… different."

'I think terrible will be a better word to use.' She smiled. 'Well I don't have much free time but I think I can look for some good songs for you. Give me around one week, okay? I know it's a bit long but my work keeps me occupied almost every day."

"No, if you're busy you don't have to…"

"I insist, Rogers and for the record I don't hate any of the Avengers… Okay maybe it's just Stark but definitely not you or Bruce. Or Natasha or Clint. I didn't talk to Thor a lot but he's reasonably polite. As for the previous mission, I-" She paused for a while. 'I know you'll be more than happy to work with the STRIKER team or any other agent but I just need to make sure you won't-'

So that was the reason why she came to talk to him today? To clarify herself?

'It's okay, I-'

Steve forgot what he was about to say when he looked into her eyes.

_Her eyes are so beautiful, _he thought, and then he remembered what Bruce told him last time.

'_When you look someone directly in the eyes, his or her body will produce a chemical called phenylethylamine, which makes the person feel in love.'_

She was also looking at him, but after a while she turned away. With a jolt in his stomach, he noticed that she blushed a little but within seconds her face was normal again. No blush, no expression. Like nothing happened.

'Is there something on my face?'

'No ma'am. I- I- I just…'

She smiled before rising from her seat. "You really stammer a lot."

He was certain that he was blushing as he could still feel the heat from his cheek long after she left for another meeting with the Director.

Around one week later he found a letter addressed to him, along with letters from SHIELD in the Avengers tower. He didn't know who the sender was as he couldn't recognise the small but pleasant handwriting on the envelope.

_**To S. G. Rogers,**_

_**Stark Tower, NYC.**_

But then he noticed the sender knew his middle name.

A person came to his mind.

'What's that, Cap?'

Knowing Tony too well Steve immediately hid the letter in his jacket. 'Nothing important. Just ugh… you know, letters from SHIELD.'

He quickly went back to his room and opened the envelope. There was a small black notebook sent along with the letter. He took it out.

The first few pages were filled with lists of songs sorted by eras and singers. The later pages consist of a list of movies of different genres. He smiled and turned to other pages. The person who sent him this also included a list of books that he should read. Smiling, he put the notebook inside his pocket and began to read the letter.

_**Captain,**_

_**I wrote you a list of songs, as I promised earlier. **_

_**You can listen to these songs via YouTube – a website to watch videos and listen to songs. Very useful, and incredibly simple to use. I prefer Spotify though. You can get Natasha to install it for you. **_

_**You can ask Natasha or Clint to teach you how to use Internet if they're not too busy flirting each other. And if they're not available, get Pepper or Bruce to help you. Don't ask Stark – I think he'll try to make you watch something that you won't like to see.**_

_**You have to learn to use a computer sooner or later, so you better start now before I ask you to do your own paperwork after missions. I don't want to help you to type your report every time. **_

(He always submitted his handwritten report and she would type out the revised, edited version for him.)

_**I've also written a list of fictions and movies that you shouldn't miss, just in case the music doesn't work for you. I think you'll be able to get more references in conversations after watching those movies.**_

_**I guess I'll be seeing you around in the SHIELD library. **_

_**M. Hill **_

**. . .**

After getting Natasha to teach him how to use a computer, Steve sat in front of his personal laptop that Tony gave him and went to YouTube. Natasha had helped him to install Spotify in his laptop but he figured he would learn to use that later. One step at a time, right?

'Hey what's that?' When Clint passed by he grabbed the little black notebook that Maria gave him. 'The handwriting looks familiar...'

'That's my privacy-'

He tried to take it back but the archer was quick enough to throw it across the common area to Natasha. She grabbed the notebook with ease and read it. Seconds later, she smirked and closed the notebook.

'Well Rogers, you're hiding something from us huh?'

'What? Whose handwriting is that? Oh wait, that's Maria's handwriting! She sent you this?' Steve groaned internally as he saw glee flashed in the archer's eyes. 'Wow, Nat. Finally I've succeeded in hooking Maria up with someone!'

'Well, you meant _me_ I think. I was the one who suggested Rogers and I was also the one who asked her to be nice to him.'

'Okay, okay. All credits go to you.' Clint waved his hands and turned to Steve. Apparently he was too excited over the fact that it was Maria's handwriting on the notebook. 'So Steve, how did you do it?'

'Did what?'

'Courting the baddass mother fucker of SHIELD of course!' Clint said fondly. 'Well don't' tell her I said that. She's not too fond of that nickname.'

'I don't think it's appropriate to use that-'

'Oh come on, just tell us how you courted her.'

'I didn't court her. I just, just talked to her and-'

'Awww you're blushing,' Natasha said affectionately. 'Do that more, okay? She loves that.'

'What?' he asked, slightly exasperated.

'Maria thought you look cute when you're blushing.'

'Okay but how do you-'

'Girls' night out. I do that only to drag her out of the office 'cause she's so in love with work,' she shrugged. 'But I think she likes you, Rogers. At least she's willing to talk to you more than 5 minutes.'

'She talks to Bruce too.' He tried not to sound too bitter.

Clint and Natasha exchanged looks.

'Well we'll help you with that.'

**. . .**

He saw her while he came back from trainings with some other junior agents. She was wearing a white buttoned blouse and a pencil skirt, holding a blazer on her arm. He could tell that she wasn't in the mood to talk as she only nodded curtly to everyone greeted her, but he was slightly relieved when she smiled slightly to him first.

'Hi Rogers.'

'Hi,' he greeted back. 'Is everything alright?'

'Had a long day but yeah, everything's fine.'

He followed her into her office and sat on her sofa. He watched her putting her blazer on her chair. He then took out the tickets that Natasha gave him this morning.

"_Ask her out, please."_

"_I don't think this is a good idea-'_

"_I thought you text her every day and she occasionally replies?" She casted him meaningful glance. "I thought you two were friends"_

Steve looked at the tickets again.

She won't kill him, right?

'Commander?'

"Yes Rogers?" "She said while putting some documents back into their respective files.

"I was wondering if we can go to a concerto together, as friends of course. Natasha bought the tickets but Clint and her couldn't go at the last minute." He said it very quickly, and slowed down a little when he noticed she was knitting her brows, trying to catch everything he said. "But if you're meeting someone then it's fine. I'm okay with it and I won't be-"

'When is the concerto?'

"Actually..." He looked at his watch. "It's three hours later.'

"Okay." She said. Noticing his expression her smile grew slightly. "Okay as in I'm going. I like concerto."

"Really?" Relieved, he smiled. "I- I was worried that..."

"I'll slap you? Or I'll punch you in the nose?" She smirked while he smiled shyly. "I think my outfit is fine so it's just yours that we have to worry for."

"Oh.'

"Don't let that bother you, Rogers. We can always drop by at any shop to get you decent clothes after dinner.'

"Dinner?" His stomach twitched.

"I'm starving." She said bluntly. "And you're probably more starved than I am."

His stomach chose to growl at that moment.

'I'm sorry-'

"Stop blushing, Rogers. Your face can't get any redder now."

They walked their way to the parking lot and retrieved her car as they were definitely not going to the concerto on his bike. They had pizza together, and he noticed she can eat a lot than most women can. He saw her helping herself with a regular Hawaiian pizza and refused to share with him.

"This is not very healthy, I know." She said when she ate her third slice of pizza. "I didn't know the meeting was going to be that long so I only had a sandwich.'

'You got sauce on your face,' he smiled and passed her a napkin. 'There, near to your lips. Right side.'

'Really?' she took the napkin and wiped her lips. 'Did I get it off?'

He shook his head and leaned slightly forward, using another napkin to clear the ketchup smear. His finger touched her soft, nice skin. He wondered if she was wearing any makeup because her cheek was slightly pink. Then it struck him – she was blushing.

Steve thought it was quite rare to see her blushed. He was thinking of drawing this down later when he got back home.

'Well, you must be really hungry, are you?' he tried to lighten the atmosphere and thankfully, she rolled her eyes at him.

'Oh and this comes from a person who just finished 2 large pizzas.'

He laughed. Other than Peggy, only she could make him happy and relaxed.

But in the end they didn't go to the concerto. They went to do something else, which he found more interesting than concerto.

Steve was looking forward to their next date.. nope, outing. Just outing. And he won't tell anyone that she actually held his hand during their dat.. outing. Yeah, but that was nothing, he told himself. He was sure that they were nothing but friends. Really, really good friends.

On the first page of the new sketchbook she gave him, he'd drawn both of them together.

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><p><strong>Anyway, Maria's handwriting is similar to the font Bradley Hand ITC and just in case you didn't make the connection, in my headcanon Maria was the one who gave Steve the notebook that we saw in CA2. I think that will be really sweet.. <strong>

**Oh, have you watched the trailer/teaser of AoU? Goodness, it's so good and the fact that Maria might be wearing Steve's jacket makes me soooooo happy. **

**Review please. They make me happy too. **


	4. Friends? Or maybe more

**A/N: This will be the last story I update for this series for the time being. It's a bit short, but I think it's enough. I don't want it to be too long 'cause I notice my English tends to go haywire if I write too long. This is the best I can go. Learning three language at once isn't simple. Anyway.. **

**This story explains why Steve and Maria didn't go to the concerto (refer to 'The Notebook'). I kinda 'borrowed' ideas from the movie 'Begin Again'. The splitter thing. It's a good movie by the way, you should totally check it out. **

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><p>They walked side by side, just like how they walked together after Phil's funeral previously. Last time she was wearing a simple black dress with a white blazer. This time she dressed differently, but she looked as beautiful as ever.<p>

He'd have to be blind for not noticing her nice, long legs and her model-like figure. According to Clint, she did go undercover as a model a few years before she got promoted to become the Commander. To be honest, he thought her S.O made a right call.

'You look beautiful tonight,' he said to her. 'Well I mean, not just tonight. You always look beautiful.'

Surprise flashed through her eyes briefly when she heard that. Her gaze softened. Her lips lifted slightly.

"Thanks."

Steve saw (or hoped) there was a tint of light pink on her cheeks.

"I thought you won't go out with me," he said nervously. 'You're always busy, and last time I asked you out for dinner you didn't say yes-'

"Oh, you mean last week? Someone else asked me out before you did so I had to decline your offer,' she smiled as his eyes widened. 'On contrary to common belief the Ice Queen do need a break from work and yes, I have a life outside of SHIELD." She tilted her head to the side, smirking. "Sorry to disappoint you, Rogers, but I'm not a robot."

"That's not what I meant, Commander. I... I ugh..." Steve tried to explain before she cut him.

"You take things very seriously, do you?" She beamed. "I'm joking. And don't call me Commander outside of base. Maria will do."

Her smile made his heart skipped a beat. She glowed, literally.

"Okay. Do you have any place to go, Com... Maria? We have another one hour."

"I'm open to suggestions."

"Well… If you don't mind we can go for a stroll." He said politely. "Bruce told me there is a CD store nearby. I was thinking of getting some CDs. The songs you recommended are great and Natasha just taught me how to use a CD player."

"That sounds great."

So they went to the CD store together. There were moments of comfortable silence when they were in the store. Maria went to look for some recent albums while Steve was busy looking up for Elvis Presley's albums as he enjoyed Elvis' music very much.

"I can't help falling in love with you."

He turned to see Maria standing behind him.

"Par- Pardon?" Shocked, he stammered, going a bit red in the cheeks.

"Oh, I'm talking about the song, not you." She laughed before she continued. "_I Can't Help Falling In Love With You_, my favourite song of Elvis Presley's. I wrote that in the notebook, I think."

She then took out the albums he put into the shopping basket earlier.

"Looks like we have very similar taste in music, Rogers. I always know you'll like Elvis Presley. I mean, who doesn't like him?'

He smiled.

'But I didn't expect you'll like Air Supply too. They are not that popular in the States.'

'I like their songs very much, especially...'

'All Out of Love, Lonely Is The Night and Goodbye?'

"How did you know?" He looked at her in surprise.

"Like I said earlier, we share a similar taste in music."

His eyes widened. He couldn't believe that they had so many things in common. Just now during dinner he found out that both of them had military background and they grew up in a single parent family. He lost his father when he was just a child and Maria never knew her mother. She didn't talk about her family much so he figured it'd be best for him not to ask.

Both of them left the CD store with bags of albums and of course, Steve paid for all the albums, including those that Maria bought. He insisted to pay for her, saying that it was an honour of a gentleman to pay for the lady.

He had to admit that it was nice when they walked together. They didn't talk, but he kinda liked the comfortable silence between them.

Her hand was very near to him. He was sure that he could touch her hand if he moved slightly nearer to him. Just slightly.

He didn't know what was in his mind when he reached out his hand...

'Hey, look at that!'

His heart almost stopped when she grabbed his hands and dragged him into a shop. Smiling, she turned to face him and pointed at something that looked like parts of an earphone, or at least it looked like that to him. He didn't know what was that.

'It's a splitter.'

'A splitter?' he repeated, not sure if he heard it correctly.

'Yeah. One input, two earphones. That's how it works. Want to try one?'

'Huh?'

Without waiting for his answer, she took out her purse and bought that splitter thing from the shopkeeper. When they left the shop she took out her handphone and inserted his earphone into the splitter and also hers. She then handed his earphones to him.

'I just found some really good music and I want to share with you. I think you'll like it.'

'What music?'

Something in him stirred when she helped him to wear the earphones. Her touch was gentle and warm, and when she drew her hand back he immediately missed the feel of her hand on his skin. He realised he had developed special feelings for her. Yes, she was beautiful but that wasn't the thing that attracted him. He liked her a lot, perhaps a little more than friends. He didn't know when it started and why. Maybe it was because he was the only one who got to see her smirks and smiles. He knew she wasn't always like that, at least she wasn't like that when she was with Natasha and Clint. He knew she was close with them, given their history and partnership and all the near-death experiences she had with the pair assassins but only he got that smile from her. Her genuine, relaxed smile.

But with a jerk in the head he pushed all the feelings aside and followed her.

'I'm not sure if you'll like this band. Bon Iver. It's an indie band. Most people probably never heard of it,' she said as she hit the play button. 'For Emma.'

For a moment he was confused, then he realised that was the name of the song when the soft, pleasant voice of the singer crooned.

_So abruptly, saw death on a sunny snow  
>For every life, forgo the parable<em>

'Wow. This is... good.'

She didn't answer him. He turned, and saw her closing her eyes, smiling and humming to herself. He wasn't sure if others would agree with this but the word adorable was definitely the best word to describe her now. Then the song ended, another song began to play.

_I found you, in a crowd of faces__  
><em>_Watched you slip, through the spaces__  
><em>_I didn't get your name__  
><em>_You got away_

He wanted to know the name of this song, but he didn't want to interrupt her. He didn't want her smile to disappear.

This feeling was so good, so strong.

_A stolen scene in the perfect movie  
>A chance to see<br>What it could be_

_Ohh ohh ohh ohh ohh  
>I can't get you out of my mind<br>Ohh ohh ohh  
>You've been there awhile<em>

_This is going somewhere, definitely going somewhere_, he said to himself. He knew she considered him as one of her very few friends in SHIELD but he wanted something more. He wanted to see what it could be. What _they_ could be.

They had come to a subway station. She took out her purse and paid for the fares of two person. He didn't know where were they going, but he knew as long as he was with her, he would be fine. It was not just because she knew the city better than he was but _her. _It was all because of her.

'Hey. I'm sorry.' She said as she rested on his shoulder. 'I don't think we can make it.'

'The concerto?' he laughed. 'We're already half an hour late, and now we're in the subway.'

'Yeah,' she got up and looked at the surrounding. 'Where are we going by the way?'

'Are you sure you want to ask me?' he grinned. 'I have no idea. You were the one who dragged me here.'

'Oh no. What was I thinking just now?' she closed her eyes, looking a bit angry at herself. 'The last time I took a subway was like five years ago.'

'Don't worry, Maria,' he smiled and took her hand. 'No matter how far we go, we'll always end up in the same place, with the same group of people in the end. It's how it works.'

She looked at him for a very long time, made him wondering if he had said something wrong. In the end she only shook her head and turned to face him.

'It's too deep. I don't think I can understand.'

He smiled. 'Yeah kiddo, why don't you show me other stuff that you can understand?'

She nodded and played another song.

_Well you only need the light when it's burning low_  
><em>Only miss the sun when it starts to snow<em>  
><em>Only know you love her when you let her go<em>

He smiled as he noticed she didn't let go of his hand.

* * *

><p><strong>Maybe I should do 30 day otp challenge series and include this for day 1. <strong>

**Songs mentioned in the fic:**

**1. For Emma - Bon Iver **

**2. I Can't Get You Out of My Mind - Matthew Perryman Jones**

**3. Let Her Go - Passenger**

**Tell me what you think. Thanks. :)**


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